Wikipedia

2019 North Carolina Courage season

The 2019 North Carolina Courage season was the team's third season as a professional women's soccer team. North Carolina Courage plays in the National Women's Soccer League, the top tier of women's soccer in the United States.

North Carolina Courage
2019 season
OwnerStephen Malik
General ManagerCurt Johnson
Head CoachPaul Riley
StadiumSahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Cary, North Carolina
(Capacity: 10,000)
NWSL Regular Season1st
NWSL PlayoffsChampions
Top goalscorerLynn Williams (12)
Highest home attendance9,563
(September 14th vs. Orlando)
Lowest home attendance4,053
(April 13th vs. Chicago)
Average home league attendance5,875
Biggest win6–0 (September 11th vs. Portland)
Biggest defeat1–3 (May 11th vs. Chicago)
← 2018
2020 →

On September 21, the Courage clinched their third consecutive Shield with a 3–0 victory over the Utah Royals.[1]

On October 27, the Courage defeated the Chicago Red Stars 4–0 to win their second consecutive NWSL Championship.[2]

Team edit

Coaching Staff edit

As of May 31, 2018
Source: North Carolina Courage[3]
Position Staff
Head coach   Paul Riley
Assistant coach   Scott Vallow
Assistant coach   Bill Paladino
Assistant coach   Sean Nahas
Assistant coach   Nathan Thackeray

First-team roster edit

As of July 18, 2019[4][5]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   CAN Stephanie Labbé
3 DF   USA Kaleigh Kurtz
4 FW   USA McKenzie Meehan
5 MF   USA Sam Mewis
6 DF   NZL Abby Erceg
7 MF   USA McCall Zerboni
8 MF   IRL Denise O'Sullivan
9 FW   USA Lynn Williams
10 MF   BRA Debinha
11 DF   USA Merritt Mathias
12 FW   USA Leah Pruitt
13 DF   USA Abby Dahlkemper
14 FW   USA Jessica McDonald
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 DF   USA Jaelene Hinkle
16 MF   SWE Julia Spetsmark
17 MF   USA Heather O'Reilly
19 FW   USA Crystal Dunn
20 MF   USA Ryan Williams
21 DF   USA Cari Roccaro
23 FW   USA Kristen Hamilton
25 DF   USA Meredith Speck
26 DF   USA Hailey Harbison
27 MF   USA Lauren Milliet
37 GK   USA Sam Leshnak
99 GK   USA Katelyn Rowland

Player transactions edit

2019 NWSL College Draft edit

Source: National Women's Soccer League[6]
Round Pick Nat. Player Previous Team
Round 1 5   Leah Pruitt USC
Round 1 9   Hailey Harbison Pepperdine
Round 2 14   Lauren Milliet Colorado College
Round 4 36   Kaycie Tillman Florida State

Players in edit

Date Player Positions played Previous club Fee/notes Ref.
January 7, 2019   Julia Spetsmark DF   Djurgårdens Signed. [7]
February 12, 2019   Ally Haran DF   UMF Selfoss Signed. [8]
February 22, 2019   Stephanie Labbé GK   Linköpings FC Signed. [9]
June 11, 2019   McKenzie Meehan FW Sky Blue FC Acquired in a Trade with Sky Blue FC in exchange for Elizabeth Eddy [10]
July 18, 2019   Sam Leshnak GK North Carolina Tar Heels Signed. [11]

Players out edit

Date Player Positions played Destination club Fee/notes Ref.
October 1, 2018   Yuri Kawamura DF unattached Waived. [12]
December 17, 2018   Darian Jenkins FW Reign FC Traded to Reign FC in exchange for Reign FC's 9th overall pick in the 2019 NWSL College Draft. [13]
January 4, 2019   Sabrina D'Angelo GK   Vittsjö Signed with Vittsjö. [14]
April 4, 2019   Morgan Reid DF Orlando Pride Traded to the Orlando Pride in exchange for Orlando's fourth round pick in the 2020 NWSL College Draft. [15]
June 11, 2019   Elizabeth Eddy MF Sky Blue FC Traded to Sky Blue FC in exchange for McKenzie Meehan. [10]
July 18, 2019   Julie King DF Waived. [11]
July 18, 2019   Ally Haran DF Waived. [11]

Competitions edit

National Women's Soccer League edit

See also: 2019 National Women's Soccer League season

Preseason edit

Source: North Carolina Courage[16]
March 23 (23-03) North Carolina Courage 4–0 Orlando Pride Cary, North Carolina
1:00 p.m. ET Speck   35'
McDonald   61' (Williams)
Williams   69' (Pruitt)
Spetsmark   89' (Eddy)		 Report Morgan   45+1' Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 4,220

Regular season edit

Source: North Carolina Courage[17]
April 13 (13-04) 1 North Carolina Courage 1–1 Chicago Red Stars Cary, North Carolina
7:00 p.m. EDT Dunn   66' Report Kerr   26' Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 4,053
April 17 (17-04) 2 North Carolina Courage 5–0 Orlando Pride Cary, North Carolina
7:00 p.m. EDT Williams   45'
O'Sullivan   45+1'
McDonald   55'
Zerboni   64'
Dunn   70', 77'
Spetsmark   88'		 Report Marta   85' Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 4,292
Referee: Danielle Chesky
April 28 (28-04) 3 Houston Dash 1–4 North Carolina Courage Houston, Texas
5:00 p.m. CDT Daly   86'
Schmidt   44'		 Report Williams   45+1'
Dunn   69'
Debinha   69'
Pruitt   76'		 Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium
Attendance: 2,933
May 04 (04-05) 4 North Carolina Courage 0–0 Sky Blue FC Cary, North Carolina
7:00 p.m. EDT Zerboni   87' Report Monaghan   34' Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 5,039
May 11 (11-05) 5 Chicago Red Stars 3–1 North Carolina Courage Bridgeview, Illinois
5:00 p.m. EDT Kerr   13'   90+3'
Vasconcelos   40'
Stanton   72'		 Report Williams   33',   80' Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium
Attendance: 2,113
May 19 (19-05) 6 North Carolina Courage 1–1 Utah Royals FC Cary, North Carolina
5:00 p.m. EDT Eddy   78' Box Rodriguez   7',   40' Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 4,821
May 27 (27-05) 7 Reign FC 2–1 North Carolina Courage Tacoma, Washington
4:00 p.m. PDT Balcer   13'

Nielsen   30' Groom   89'		 Box Erceg   89' Stadium: Cheney Stadium
Attendance: 3,032
June 01 (01-06) 8 Orlando Pride 0–3 North Carolina Courage Orlando, Florida
7:30 p.m. EDT
Box
Stadium: Orlando City Stadium
Attendance: 4,427
June 15 (15-06) 9 North Carolina Courage 1–1 Portland Thorns FC Cary, North Carolina
7:45 p.m. EDT
Box
Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 6,172
Note: doubleheader with North Carolina FC.
June 29 (29-06) 10 Washington Spirit 1–2 North Carolina Courage Germantown, Maryland
7:00 p.m. EDT Harrison   39'
Thomas   82'		 Debinha   45+4'
Pritchett   53'
Zerboni   90+3'		 Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex
Attendance: 3,481
July 05 (05-07) 11 North Carolina Courage 5–2 Houston Dash Cary, North Carolina
7:00 p.m. EDT
Box
Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 5,066
July 13 (13-07) 12 North Carolina Courage 2–0 Reign FC Cary, North Carolina
7:00 p.m. EDT Williams   22'
Debinha   55'
O'Sullivan   70'		 Box
Report		 Balcer   87' Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 6,216
July 21 (21-07) 13 Chicago Red Stars 2–1 North Carolina Courage Bridgeview, Illinois
5:00 p.m. CDT Naughton   14'
DiBernardo   37'
Kerr   58'		 Williams   30'
McDonald   51'		 Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium
Attendance: 17,388
Note: Game was broadcast on ESPN 2
July 27 (27-07) 14 Utah Royals FC 1–2 North Carolina Courage Sandy, Utah
8:00 p.m. MDT Press   13' Hamilton   34'
McDonald   54'		 Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium
Attendance: 10,545
August 03 (03-08) 15 North Carolina Courage 1–0 Washington Spirit Cary, North Carolina
4:00 p.m. EDT Debinha   64'
Spetsmark   90+4'		 Nielsen   24' Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 4,393
Note: Rescheduled from August 2 due to thunderstorms.
August 11 (11-08) 16 Portland Thorns FC 2–1 North Carolina Courage Portland, Oregon
12:00 p.m. PDT Foord   19'
Labbé   56' (o.g)
Erceg   82' (o.g)		 Dunn   4' Stadium: Providence Park
Attendance: 25,218
Note: Game was broadcast on ESPNews
August 24 (24-08) 17 North Carolina Courage 1–0 Reign FC Cary, North Carolina
7:00 p.m. EDT L. Williams   82' Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 6,743
September 07 (07-09) 18 Sky Blue FC 1–2 North Carolina Courage Piscataway, New Jersey
3:00 p.m. EDT Lloyd   13' (p)
Rodriguez   79'		 Skroski   1' (og)
Dunn   57'		 Stadium: Yurcak Field
Attendance: 2,895
September 11 (11-09) 19 Portland Thorns FC 0–6 North Carolina Courage Portland, Oregon
7:30 p.m. PDT Klingenberg   57'
Horan   58'		 Debinha   15'
L. Williams   21', 24', 68'
Dunn   61'
Hinkle   69'
Hamilton   89'		 Stadium: Providence Park
Attendance: 17,517
September 14 (14-09) 20 North Carolina Courage 6–1 Orlando Pride Cary, North Carolina
6:00 p.m. EDT Williams   6'
Edmonds   37' (o.g)
McDonald   41'
Meehan   78'
O'Reilly   85'
Debinha   90+2'		 Greening   11'
Kennedy   28'
Elinsky   28'
Hill   82'		 Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 9,563
September 17 (17-09) 21 North Carolina Courage 1–0 Houston Dash Cary, North Carolina
7:30 p.m. EDT Mewis   87' (p) Report Daly   73'
Brooks   74'
Mewis   86'		 Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 4,943
September 21 (21-09) 22 Utah Royals FC 0–3 North Carolina Courage Sandy, Utah
7:00 p.m. MDT Mewis   30' (p)
O'Sullivan   35'
Hinkle   65'
Debinha   70'		 Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium
Attendance: 9,946
September 28 (28-09) 23 Washington Spirit 2–1 North Carolina Courage Germantown, Maryland
7:00 p.m. EDT Huster   56'
Matthews   59'
Pugh   75'
Lavelle   84'		 Williams   45+2'
Erceg   86'		 Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex
October 12 (12-10) 24 North Carolina Courage 3–2 Sky Blue FC Cary, North Carolina
7:00 p.m. EDT McDonald   16'
Debinha   28'
McDonald   81'		 Report Lloyd   26'
Richardson   86'		 Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 9,195

Postseason playoffs edit

October 20 (20-10) Semifinal North Carolina Courage 4–1 Reign FC Cary, North Carolina
1:30 p.m. EDT O'Reilly   88'
Debinha   99'
Barnes   106' (o.g.)
Dunn   107'		 Report Long   50'
Onumonu   90+3'		 Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Note: Televised on ESPN2
October 27 (27-10) Final North Carolina Courage 4–0 Chicago Red Stars Cary, North Carolina
3:30 p.m. EST Debinha   4'
McDonald   26'
Dunn   45+5'
Mewis   62'
Zerboni   74'		 Report DiBernardo   47'
Ertz   67'		 Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 10,227
Note: Televised on ESPN

League table edit

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 North Carolina Courage (C) 24 15 4 5 54 23 +31 49 NWSL Shield
2 Chicago Red Stars 24 14 2 8 41 28 +13 44 NWSL Playoffs
3 Portland Thorns FC 24 11 7 6 40 31 +9 40
4 Reign FC 24 10 8 6 27 27 0 38
5 Washington Spirit 24 9 7 8 30 25 +5 34
6 Utah Royals FC 24 10 4 10 25 25 0 34
7 Houston Dash 24 7 5 12 21 36 −15 26
8 Sky Blue FC 24 5 5 14 20 34 −14 20
9 Orlando Pride 24 4 4 16 24 53 −29 16
Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(C) Champions
Results summary edit
Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
24 15 4 5 54 23  +31 49 8 4 0 27 8  +19 7 0 5 27 15  +12

Last updated: October 12, 2019.
Source: NWSLsoccer.com

Results by round edit
Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324
GroundHHAHAHAAHAHHAAHAHAAHHAAH
ResultDWWDLDLWDWWWLWWLWWWWWWLW
Position311245744521221322111111
Updated to match(es) played on October 12, 2019. Source: NWSLsoccer.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

International friendlies edit

Main article: 2019 Women's International Champions Cup

As defending 2018 NWSL champions and defending 2018 Women's ICC champions, the Courage were selected to participate in and host the 2019 Women's International Champions Cup. They are scheduled to play English side Manchester City in the semi-final round.

August 15 (15-08) Semi-final North Carolina Courage   2–1   Manchester City Cary, North Carolina
7:30 p.m. ET O'Sullivan   80'
Meehan   84'
McDonald   90+2'		 Report Stanway   41' Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 5,436
August 18 (18-08) Final North Carolina Courage   0–1   Lyon Cary, North Carolina
7:30 p.m. ET Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Note: Broadcast on ESPN2

Statistical leaders edit

As of October 12, 2019

Awards edit

As of October 19, 2019.

NWSL annual awards edit

See also: NWSL awards

NWSL Monthly Awards edit

NWSL Player of the Month edit

Month Result Player Ref.
April Won   Crystal Dunn [19]
July Won   Kristen Hamilton [20]

NWSL Team of the Month edit

Month Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards Ref
April   Abby Erceg   Crystal Dunn [21]
May   Merritt Mathias [22]
June   Kristen Hamilton [23]
July   Abby Erceg
  Merritt Mathias 		  Debinha   Kristen Hamilton [24]
August   Abby Erceg
  Jaelene Hinkle 		  Debinha [25]
September   Jaelene Hinkle   Debinha   Lynn Williams [26]

NWSL Weekly Awards edit

NWSL Player of the Week edit

Week Result Player Ref.
8 Won   Kristen Hamilton [27]
12 Won   Kristen Hamilton [28]
15 Won   Kristen Hamilton [29]
22 Won   Lynn Williams [30]
25 Won   Jessica McDonald [31]

NWSL Goal of the Week edit

Week Result Player Ref.
1 Nominated   Crystal Dunn [32]
3 Nominated   Crystal Dunn [33]
6 Nominated   Elizabeth Eddy [34]
8 Nominated   Kristen Hamilton [35]
9 Nominated   Julia Spetsmark [36]
11 Nominated   Leah Pruitt [37]
12 Nominated   Kristen Hamilton [38]
13 Nominated   Debinha [39]
15 Nominated   Kristen Hamilton [40]
16 Nominated   Debinha [41]
17 Nominated   Crystal Dunn
19 Nominated   Lynn Williams
21 Nominated   Crystal Dunn
22 Won   Heather O'Reilly

NWSL Save of the Week edit

Week Result Player Ref.
4 Nominated   Merritt Mathias [42]
7 Nominated   Merritt Mathias [43]
11 Nominated   Katelyn Rowland [44]
16 Nominated   Stephanie Labbé [45]
17 Nominated   Stephanie Labbé
23 Nominated   Stephanie Labbé

References edit

  1. ^ "North Carolina FC claims third-straight NWSL Shield with 3-0 win over Utah Royals FC". Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  2. ^ Levine, Matthew. "North Carolina Courage rolls past Chicago Red Stars to win second consecutive NWSL Championship". nwslsoccer.com. NWSL. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  3. ^ "2018 Coaching Staff". North Carolina FC. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  4. ^ "NORTH CAROLINA COURAGE ANNOUNCE 2019 ROSTER IN ADVANCE OF HOME OPENER". April 8, 2019. Archived from the original on April 10, 2019. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
  5. ^ "NC COURAGE SIGNS COLLEGE DRAFT PICKS PRUITT, HARBISON, AND MILLIET". Archived from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  6. ^ "Every pick of the 2019 NWSL College Draft". www.nwslsoccer.com. National Women's Soccer League. January 10, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  7. ^ "NC COURAGE ACQUIRE SWEDISH INTERNATIONAL MIDFIELDER JULIA SPETSMARK". January 7, 2019. Archived from the original on March 21, 2020. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  8. ^ "NWSL notes: After year in Iceland, defender Ally Haran joins NC Courage". February 12, 2019. Archived from the original on December 13, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  9. ^ "NC COURAGE ACQUIRE CANADIAN GOALKEEPER STEPHANIE LABBÉ". February 22, 2019. Archived from the original on April 5, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  10. ^ a b "Sky Blue FC Acquires Elizabeth Eddy in a Trade with North Carolina Courage". June 11, 2019. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  11. ^ a b c "NORTH CAROLINA COURAGE SIGNS GOALKEEPER SAM LESHNAK". July 18, 2019. Archived from the original on November 7, 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  12. ^ "NWSL players available on the Re-Entry Wire". October 1, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  13. ^ "Seattle Reign acquire Darian Jenkins from North Carolina". December 17, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  14. ^ "D'Angelo Leaving For Sweden Soccer". January 4, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  15. ^ "Orlando Pride Trade for Defender Morgan Reid". April 4, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  16. ^ "NC Courage Preseason Preview". North Carolina FC. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  17. ^ "2019 Season Schedule". www.nccourage.com. NC Courage. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  18. ^ a b "Kailen Sheridan Nominated for 2019 NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year". Archived from the original on October 17, 2019. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  19. ^ "April Player of the Month: Crystal Dunn". www.nwslsoccer.com. National Women's Soccer League. May 1, 2019. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  20. ^ "July Player of the Month: Kristen Hamilton". www.nwslsoccer.com. National Women's Soccer League. July 31, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  21. ^ Balf, Celia (May 3, 2019). "March Team of the Month". NWSLsoccer. NWSL. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  22. ^ "May Team of the Month". NWSLsoccer. NWSL. May 31, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
  23. ^ "June Team of the Month". July 8, 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  24. ^ "July Team of the Month". August 3, 2019. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  25. ^ "August Team of the Month". NWSLsoccer. NWSL. September 5, 2019. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
  26. ^ Levine, Matthew. "September Team of the Month". NWSLsoccer.com. NWSL. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  27. ^ "Week 8 Player of the Week: Kristen Hamilton". June 4, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  28. ^ "Kristen Hamilton, North Carolina Courage Week 12 #NWSL Player of the Week". Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  29. ^ "Week 15 Player of the Week: Kristen Hamilton, North Carolina Courage". Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  30. ^ "Week 22 Player of the Week: Lynn Williams, North Carolina Courage". September 17, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  31. ^ Levine, Matthew. "Week 25 Player of the Week: Jessica McDonald, North Carolina Courage". NWSLsoccer.com. NWSL. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  32. ^ "Vote: Goal of the Week". National Women's Soccer League. April 22, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  33. ^ "Vote: Goal of the Week". National Women's Soccer League. April 29, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  34. ^ "Vote: Goal of the Week". National Women's Soccer League twitter. May 20, 2019. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  35. ^ "Week 8 Goal of the Week Nominees". National Women's Soccer League twitter. June 3, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  36. ^ "Week 9 Goal of the Week Nominees". National Women's Soccer League twitter. June 17, 2019. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
  37. ^ "Week 11 Goal of the Week Nominees". National Women's Soccer League twitter. July 1, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  38. ^ "Week 12 Goal of the Week nominees #NWSL 2019". YouTube. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  39. ^ "Week 13 Goal of the Week nominees #NWSL 2019". NWSL Twitter. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  40. ^ "Week 15 Goal of the Week nominees #NWSL 2019". YouTube. NWSL. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  41. ^ "Week 16 Goal of the Week nominees #NWSL 2019". YouTube. NWSL. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  42. ^ "Vote: Save of the Week". National Women's Soccer League. May 6, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  43. ^ "Week 7 Save of the Week Nominees". National Women's Soccer League youtube. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  44. ^ "Vote: Save of the Week". National Women's Soccer League. May 6, 2019. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  45. ^ "Week 16 Save of the Week nominees #NWSL 2019". YouTube. NWSL. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
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